St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-26
Below zero.
SUFFERING IN DAKOTA.

~ ISIa1.t0 ~ DC1no1as
There is suspicion abroad that the
weather prophet and the coal dealers
have gone into joint pool. This suS-
piciOn is strengthened by the cold snap
that is now causing Northwestern citi-
ZenS to hump themselves along the
streets at double quick. with their Jaws
rafting and their hands buried in their
pockets. Many people were caught
with their coal stoves down, and they
are kicking themselves vigorously for
their neglect i'll not getting them into
shape earlier.
1t Is an unusual occurrence for a cold
wave to strike this part of the country
at this time of the year. Last winter,
which was remarkably severe, made its
Introductory bow fully one month later
than this. The 10Th of November last
year Minnesota was treated to the
first snowfall, and up to that time
the weather had not been cold enough
TO freeze water in the street. 1t seems
strange that about the same date the
coal dealers decide to raise the price of
coal per ton the weather clerk should
send along bunch of weather that will
necessitate the use of coal with the
drafts thrown wide open. There must
be some conspiracy between the fuel
dealers and the Ice King.
The citizens of Minnesota have sent
up howl and demonstrated against
the rise in the price of coal, but, in the
interest they have felt in their own
pOcketbooks, they have not for mo
-ho+ a.:
will have on those people who have
pitched their tents on the prairies of
North Dakota, country where forests
are curiosity, and where coal is always
worth s. more ton than it is in Mime
sofa. 1t is not presumption to predict
that the forcing up of the price of
coal will result in great deal of
suffering in that territory the
coming winter. AT Bismarck last winter
anthracite was hard to get,and the resi-
dents, completely at the mercy of the
dealers, were compelled to pay as high
as SIS per ton, or wrap themselves in
buffalo skins and wait for spring to
break and thaw out their blood. Bis
marck is a prosperous town on the main
line of the Northern Pacific road, and
the citizens of course enjoyed adyan-
tages that those who lived in the small
towns that are located on the prairies.
miles away from the railroads, or per-
haps on branch of the main lines,
could not possibly obtain. In these
towns the price Of fuel went far above
the figures quoted, and considering the
trouble of getting the fuel there through
snoWdrifts that it took days and weeks
to get through, the price can hardly be
considered eXorbitant.
1t is safe to predict that in many To-
calities in Dakota anthracite coal this
winter will be worth s25 a
ton, and at this figure there
are but very few of the farmers
who can afford to buy it, With wood as
great luxury as coal, what then can
reasonably be expected to result? Some
idea of what this question means can be
gotten from the statement of the veneer
able Prohibition representative of Sully
county, in the lower house of the Da-
kOta Legislature, Daddy" MOORE, when
he stood up TO plead in favor of the
passage of bill appropriating money
for the benefit of needy farmers. Said
he: "There are hundreds of honest
farmers and loyal citizens of Dakota
this winter in Sully county who have not
the means to procure fuel at the market
price, and are compelled to burn straw
and buffalo chips to keep themselves
and their families from freezing" What
''Daddy" MOORE said of Sully county
will be true of many counties in the
northern and western portion of Da-
kota territory this winter. There,
where the farmer needs the most
money to supply him with the
necessaries of life, the wheat crop,
to which he looks for his income,
has been the lightest: and with seven
months of cold weather, filled with bit
ter winds and bowling billiards and
fuel famine staring him in the face,
there is but little to encourage him in
striving to stem the storm. There will
be suffering, and intense suffering, this
winter among the farmers of Dakota.